Chapter 675: An Offer of Alliance

Zhang Lie left the palace and headed outside the capital, whereupon he retrieved the two boxes he had reclaimed from the Jindao. He didn't know if there were any security precautions the king of the realm had taken that would alert him when his treasures were claimed, so it wouldn't be safe to open up the boxes within the capital.

The first box contained what felt like a burning star, resplendent in its beauty and possessing overwhelming energy. Any hunter would be struck dumb by such a treasure—this was the primordial starflower that Zhang Lie had been searching for. He hadn't expected to have obtained it so quickly; it was meant to be a reward for securing the throne for the ninth prince.

The second box contained a scrap of a tattered map , but it was quite a bit smaller than either of the two pieces he had reclaimed from the ninth prince or the alcohol tribe.

He couldn't help but wonder what was in the remaining box that the mystery assailant had taken...

Given the contents of the second box, it looked as though the Jindao—or perhaps the Jinghun?—were also searching for pieces of this map. That would be a headache for him. How many scraps did the Jindao possess, and how many did the Jinghun possess?

If they were to hide the scraps back in their homeworld in the Milky Way, it would be far harder for Zhang Lie to get ahold of them.

Well, he would leave it to chance.

After storing both boxes carefully, Zhang Lie headed back to the ninth prince's quarters and waited for the ninth prince to return.

Now that he had gotten what he had come for, there was no need to continue helping out the ninth prince, but Zhang Lie wasn't one to give up halfway. He had promised the ninth prince that he would lead him to the throne; he would keep that promise.

Furthermore, if he were to leave now, it would easily rouse the king of the realm's suspicions. Indeed, it was quite likely that the king of the realm had already closed off all the wormholes leading to other worlds.

It wouldn't be easy for Zhang Lie to leave even if he wanted to, and there was still the matter of the peak gene fragments that were waiting for him to claim.

His spoils were quickly delivered to the ninth prince's quarters, and Zhang Lie began to roast some meat right then and there. Everyone else was busy restoring the palace and the capital to order, so Zhang Lie's actions were particularly awkward. However, no one who realized what he was doing said a word.

[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade arclight grouse, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 11 ]

[For consuming the flesh of a peak-grade starrune leopard, you received one peak gene fragment. Current total: 26]

Zhang Lie: a disaster-grade lifeform

Framework: Foundation, Lv. MAX; Ninecarp Transformation, Sixth Form: River Dragon Techniques: Rippling Walk (pinnacle), Three-Wave Crescendo (pinnacle), Calm Waters (pinnacle), Fists of the Silent Sea (pinnacle), The Boundless Blade (pinnacle), Eclipse (pinnacle), Syzygy (pinnacle), ?Ninesoul Dragonblade (advanced), Blade of the Heavens (intermediate)

Genes: Basic, 160; Mutated, 150; Superior, 150; Peak, 40; Disaster, 10

Soulshards: White Grub (superior), Blood Ant (superior), Potbellied Toad (mutated), Eternalspring Cocoon (superior), Dragonwolf (superior), Moonlight Wyrm (peak), Golden Roc (peak), Mistmeld Clam (disaster)

After consuming two peak-grade and one superior-grade lifeforms' worth of meat, Zhang Lie suddenly grew tired of his feast.

He frowned and headed outside in search of a cook who could help him prepare something more interesting to consume, but just as he was about to leave, he found the third prince walking in his direction.

The third prince was beaming, and the guards behind him carried a huge bundle of gifts. "I heard that someone was so daring as to be roasting meat in the ninth prince's quarters. The only person I knew who fit the bill was you, Master!"

Zhang Lie frowned. "I've never accepted you as my disciple."

The third prince blinked innocently. "If you were willing to take my ninth brother as a disciple, why not me too?"

Zhang Lie refused him immediately. "I won't accept you as a disciple. If that's all you're here for, please return!"

The third prince continued seriously, "Master, when I saw your prowess in the hunting grounds, I was shocked to see such a heroic figure. From then on, I was determined to apprentice under you. Master, please accept me!"

Zhang Lie made a gesture with his hand. He didn't touch the third prince at all, but the third prince found himself unable to bow. "Don't try to drag me into your politics. You're trying to find a new backer after the situation with the Wang clan, aren't you?"

Within the hunting grounds, Zhang Lie had exposed the Wang clan's treachery.

This wasn't the first time the Wang clan had tried to get rid of the third prince; not only had the Wangs tried to pin the blame of the ninth prince's assassination attempt on him, they had even tried to kill him within the hunting grounds. The third prince could hardly bear this betrayal—he had to end this relationship once and for all.

Keeping any Wang retainers around was like leaving the sword of Damocles hanging over his neck. After splitting away from the Wang clan, the third prince had to find another backer who would support him.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The crown prince was supported by basically all the officials of the court; he was a faction unto itself. Furthermore, he had the backing of the king of the realm. He alone could face off against the other princes combined.

The second prince was dead, and the Jindao had been branded traitors.

The fourth prince was being supported by the Feng clan; nothing had changed there.

The fifth prince had the Qian clan—and now, seemingly the Wang clan as well—as a backer, and he had suddenly eclipsed the other princes as a result.

The sixth prince had the Yinlian; the seventh, the Heijie; the eighth, the Zijing. The ninth prince, who should have been the weakest, had somehow ended up with a master like Zhang Lie. He had quickly closed the distance between him and the other princes during the hunt, given the impressive results that Zhang Lie had shown.

On the other hand, he, the third prince, had dropped a few ranks thanks to the betrayal of the Wang clan. At this point, he was sure that even the fourth and fifth princes had eclipsed him in strength—and he wouldn't take that lying down.

Before the hunt, the crown prince had been the top contender, the second prince was second, and he was the third. This was only natural; the older princes had more time to amass their strength.

However, the hunt had changed everything. He had lost his base of power, and he couldn't maintain his strength. If that were the case, the power and authority whose scraps he had clawed for all these years would be for naught—and he would either be eliminated or be absorbed into another prince's faction.

The second prince, who had died, was clearly the biggest loser of the annual hunt, but since he was now also out of the competition, that dubious honor naturally fell to the third prince—he had lost his backer entirely.

However, the third prince didn't regret his decisive actions. The Wang clan had been a hidden enemy, one that was now exposed. If they hadn't struck during the hunt, they would have struck during an even more critical period, and the third prince had not cut off their avenue of attack.

Now, it was time to find a reliable partner to work with. The other princes' backers would hardly welcome him, so his only choice was the ninth prince's master. That was why he had come to visit him...